Cornwallis’ Surrender at Yorktown:

1. Cornwallis’ Surrender at Yorktown: “The World Turned Upside Down!” Painted by John Trumbull, 1797

2. The Aftermath • Treaty of Paris • Brits acknowledge Amer Indep • New borders: • S: Florida • W: Miss R • N: Canada • Amers agreed to protect Loyalists property and British creditors.

3. North America After theTreaty of Paris, 1783

4. Articles of Confederation Government: 1781-1789

5. What is a Republic? • A gov’t in which citizens rule through elected officials • Why choose this over a direct democracy? • Concern over too much power in the hands of an uneducated people • Two thoughts on republicanism: • Place the nation above the self • self-interest will benefit the whole

6. State Constitutions • Most had strong governors with veto power. • Most had bicameral legislatures. • Property required for voting. • Some had universal white male suffrage. • Most had bills of rights. • Many had a continuation of state-established religions while others disestablished religion.

7. Confederation • Confederation: loose agreement • League of friendship • Allowed the states to maintain their power BUT share some power with a national gov’t

8. Articles of Confederation • New gov’t system with shared powers between states and national gov’t • One-house legislature with one vote per state • National gov’t primarily deal with its debt and foreign relations

9. Powers of the National Gov • Declare war • Make peace • Sign treaties • Borrow money • Set standards for coins, weights, measures • Est post office • Deal with NA’s

10. Powers denied to the Nat Gov • No Separate executive dept • No national court system to interpret laws

11. Weaknesses of theArticles of Confederation • Political: • No president • Too hard to pass laws • No court system • Economic: • No power to collect taxes • No power to regulate trade • No power to coin money

12. Weaknesses of theArticles of Confederation • Foreign relations problems • American gov’t could not repay its debts and would not compensate loyalists for property destruction

13. Debt problems • Why did the gov’t seize farms? • States raised taxes to pay off creditors • farmers could not pay taxes • farmers in debt get sued and lose land

14. Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-7 • Uprising led by Daniel Shays in Western Mass. • Small farmers angered by crushing debts, taxes, and lost land.

15. Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-7

16. Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-7 There could be no stronger evidence of the want of energy in our governments than these disorders. -- George Washington

17. Settling Western Land

18. Indian Land Cessions:1768-1799

19. Disputed Territorial ClaimsBetween Spain & the U. S.:1783-1796

20. State Claims to Western Lands

21. The United States in 1787

22. Northwest Ordinance of 1787 • One of the major accomplishments of the Confederation Congress! • Statehood achievd in three stages: • Congress appointed 3 judges & a governor to govern the territory. • When population reached 5,000 adult male landowners  elect territorial legislature. • When population reached 60,000  elect delegates to a state constitutional convention.

23. Land Ordinance of 1785 Creation of a system for surveying land in order for the gov’t to sell it.

24. Remember Shays’ Rebellion? • What was it evidence of?

25. Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-7 There could be no stronger evidence of the want of energy in our governments than these disorders. -- George Washington

26. Annapolis Convention (1786) • 12 reps from 5 statesmeet to talk about trade problems. • Realized that delegates needed to meet in Philadelphia to discuss the whole sorry mess.